News & Stats

Barn Notes

McLaughlin Having A Bang-Up Meet

Posted Saturday, Aug 18, 2012

Although his name doesn’t appear in the top 10 in the trainers’ standings,
Kiaran McLaughlin’s Monmouth Park division is quietly having a
sensational meet.

McLaughlin, currently the
17th leading trainer in North
America, has sent out just 30 horses here to date. But 10 of them
have posed for winner’s circle photos while two more placed and another took
third. That’s a lofty win percentage of 33 1/3 at Monmouth, which is even better
than his 24% success rate nationally.

“Kiaran is very good at
sending the right horses to the right track and finding the right spot for them
to run,” said Andrew
St. Lawrence, who has
overseen the McLaughlin barn at Monmouth for five seasons. “The other key is
that he is very sharp at finding the jockey who fits each horse well. He uses
many different jockeys and we’ve won races this year with Joe Bravo, Pablo
Fragoso, Paco Lopez and Pedro Cotto, Jr. and others. Kiaran always makes us look
good.

“Kiaran ships horses all
over, but he’s very big on supporting Monmouth Park,” said St. Lawrence. “He likes to
stable here.”

McLaughlin, whose major
clients are Darley Stable and Godolphin Stable, is no stranger to these
environs. In the 1980’s he was an assistant to trainer D. Wayne Lukas at
Monmouth and every day had his hands on champions Lady’s Secret, Open Mind and
others who helped put themselves and their trainer into the Hall of
Fame.

“Here’s Kiaran leading
Dynaformer into the winner’s circle,” St. Lawrence said while showing photos on
his cell phone. “Here’s another of Kiaran with Open Mind when she broke her
maiden (on August 15, 1988). He’s got a very long history with Monmouth Park. Our current success is the result of
a very big team effort.”

One invaluable member of
the crew is Sadler, the 10-year-old golden retriever St. Lawrence has had since
she was a puppy. Sadler is a fixture in the shedrow and a friend to horses and
humans.

“She’s a pretty chill dog,”
he said. “She used to sit right outside the stall of Seventh Street, who
won a couple of grade ones,” he said. “This spring in New York, she always sat
in front of Alpha’s stall. At least she has good taste. If you see her in front
of a stall, you might want to watch that horse.”

It would be wise to keep an
eye on all of the McLaughlin horses when they show up in the Monmouth Park paddock.

“We’re happy with the meet
we’re having here and our success. Kiaran knows the right horses to send here
and the right ones to keep here,” said St. Lawrence as Sadler wagged her tail in
approval. “Personally, I love Monmouth Park and love training and running here.
The track is beautiful and going to the races in the afternoons is a terrific
experience.”